ALBANY -- A controversial plan to lease a county nursing home to a private operator faces two new obstacles as skeptical county lawmakers passed legislation mandating that the company seeking to run the facility would have to purchase all of the equipment currently onsite.

Support for the measure led one of the Legislature's highest ranking Democrats to take to the floor, calling it an attempt to "protect" Albany County's investment in the nursing home.

"These are assets of the county paid for by the taxpayers," said Majority Leader Frank Commisso, D-Albany, referring to the nursing home and its equipment.

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This measure, which passed by a 24 - 12 vote, was just one of two pieces of legislation designed to place county lawmakers squarely in the midst of ongoing contract negotiations between the county and USG, Inc., the private nursing home operator which County Executive Dan McCoy wants to operate the home.

The second measure, which passed by a close vote of 19 - 17, authorizes the county to bring in a healthcare consultant to review the nursing home's finances before a private operator could takeover. That move could lead to a two-month delay in any decision on the home's fate, according to Commisso.

Passage of the hotly debated legislation is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle between a majority of Democratic lawmakers and McCoy, the Legislature's former chairman. Since McCoy first floated his leasing plan last November, supporters have hailed it as the most effective way to dramatically lower the nearly $20 million annual cost of subsidizing the home. Critics have noted that the plan doesn't end taxpayer subsidies and includes $12 million in low interest loans and county subsidies as part of a deal with the company.

Seeking to minimize attacks from dissatisfied legislators, McCoy's staff has held a series of five meetings with several legislative committees. That led to Legislator Richard Mendick, R-Selkirk, praising the "unprecedented access" that the administration was providing lawmakers. But Commisso said the meetings fell far short of the necessary disclosure.

"We're dealing with Medicaid, we're dealing with the Feds, we're dealing with the state," he said. "Nobody knows where we are."

Suggesting that moving toward the leasing of the nursing home would inevitably lead to the privatization of the residence which currently employs nearly 250, Commisso said to his colleagues: "We're going out of the nursing home business if we ultimately vote to approve a lease."